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Mr Bakkar's School Run

Children in Harlow spurred a teacher on to run eight miles in preparation for the London Marathon.

Shawki Bakkar, assistant headteacher at Burnt Mill Academy, is on a mission to lose weight and get fit ahead of the mammoth physical challenge in April.

He has already lost six stone in an effort to complete the run and raise as much money as possible for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

As part of his training, he took on his biggest challenge yet – running eight miles between the Burnt Mill Academy Trust primary schools, Roydon, Little Parndon, Freshwaters and Cooks Spinney.

At each school, pupils, teachers and parents lined the path to cheer him on, with some joining in to complete part of the route.

As he finished the run at Burnt Mill, a crowd cheered as the Rocky theme tune played.

Mr Bakkar said: “The first part of the run was really hard, but the more we ran the better it got.

“Some Burnt Mill students joined me for the whole route and they simply wouldn’t let me slow down. They spurred me on all the way which was really good. As we approached each school, we could hear cheering and that really gave me a boost to carry on. I always run on my own, but this support has 100 per cent encouraged me for the actual day.

“This is the longest run I’ve done – a third of a marathon! It was not a walk in the park at all.”